Elevator control system using meeting information to control car destinations

ABSTRACT

An elevator control system including an elevator management system obtaining meeting information from at least one of a calendar system and a user interface; the elevator management system generating a control command in response to the meeting information; and an elevator controller controlling destinations of one or more elevator cars in response to the control command.

BACKGROUND

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to elevator systems. Morespecifically, the subject matter disclosed herein relates to an elevatorcontrol system.

Elevator control systems typically cannot detect the presence ofarriving passengers until they press a hall call button, enter adestination via a keypad/touchscreen or use their security credential ata turnstile or reader. In the case of up peak and down peak traffic,there is a steady increase in passenger arrival rates, and these peakstypically occur during the same periods of time each day and normallyinvolve the lobby floor(s). The elevator control system can thus beprogrammed and configured in advance to handle these peak trafficperiods, e.g., by parking more than one car at the lobby and draggingcars back to the lobby after they finish servicing passenger demand.Because these peak periods occur at regular times each day, a systemcapable of learning by analysing historical traffic patterns coulddeduce when and where these peak periods occur.

The random arrival or departure of large groups of passengers from oneor more non-lobby floors in a building, such as those used for meetingrooms, can provide challenges for an elevator control system. Thepassengers arrive at or depart from these floors in a relatively shortspace of time, which provides a short duration peak in activity thatcould potentially cause long waiting times for passengers as theelevator system attempts to provide sufficient carrying capacity toservice this unexpected demand. The system has no way of knowing whenthese bursts will occur, and so it cannot be pre-programmed toanticipate them. A learning system might be able to deduce which floorsthese peaks occur at, but since most meetings generally do not happen atconsistent times, there would be a tendency to over-compensate andeither assign too many or too few cars to service these floors.

SUMMARY

An embodiment is an elevator control system including an elevatormanagement system obtaining meeting information from at least one of acalendar system and a user interface; the elevator management systemgenerating a control command in response to the meeting information; andan elevator controller controlling destinations of one or more elevatorcars in response to the control command.

Another embodiment is a method for controlling elevator cars, the methodincluding obtaining meeting information from at least one of a calendarsystem and a user interface; generating a control command in response tothe meeting information; and controlling destinations of one or moreelevator cars in response to the control command.

These and other advantages and features will become more apparent fromthe following description taken in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an elevator control system in an exemplaryembodiment; and

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a process for generating control commands in anexemplary embodiment.

The detailed description explains embodiments of the invention, togetherwith advantages and features, by way of example with reference to thedrawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Shown in FIG. 1 is an embodiment of an elevator control system 10. Anelevator controller 12 directs elevator cars 14 to floors based oncontrol commands from an elevator management system 16. The elevatorcontroller 12 may be a standard elevator controller used with existingelevator systems. This allows the elevator control system 10 to beincorporated into existing elevator systems without modification to theelevator controller 12. As such, elevator controller 12 responds totraditional up/down hall calls as known in the art, in addition to theproviding the features described herein. Elevator controller 12 may alsorespond to priority or VIP calls as known in the art. Elevatormanagement system 16 and elevator controller 12 may communicate over amedium, such as a local area network (LAN), a wireless network,point-to-point serial communications (e.g., RS-422), busses (e.g.,CANbus), etc.

The elevator management system 16 may be implemented using amicroprocessor based device (e.g., computer, server) executing acomputer program stored in a memory to perform the functions describedherein. Alternatively, the elevator management system 16 may beimplemented in hardware (e.g., ASIC) or in a combination of hardware andsoftware. As described herein, the elevator management system 16performs functions to produce control commands. The elevator managementsystem 16 may be implemented using an existing elevator managementsystem in an elevator system. Alternatively, the elevator managementsystem 16 may be implemented as add-on hardware/software to an existingelevator management system. Further, the elevator management system 16logic that is used for the gathering and processing of calendar/userinterface information could be embedded within the elevator controller12. Accordingly, embodiments of the elevator management system 16 arenot limited to those shown in FIG. 1.

The elevator management system 16 interfaces with a calendar system 18,a user interface 20 and location sensors 22 in order to generate controlcommands for elevator controller 12. Elevator management system 16communicates with the calendar system 18, user interface 20 and locationsensors 22 over a medium, such as a local area network (LAN) or awireless network. The control commands, described in further detailherein, indicate where and when elevator cars 14 are to be positioned byelevator controller 12.

The calendar system 18 may be implemented using an existing clientprogram providing calendaring functions (e.g., Microsoft OUTLOOK™) inconjunction with a server component (e.g., Microsoft EXCHANGE™). Asdescribed in further detail herein, when a meeting is scheduled in thecalendar system 18, meeting information 3 is provided to the elevatormanagement system 16. The elevator management system 16 uses the meetinginformation to generate control commands for the elevator controller 12.The calendar system 18 may be a personal calendar for an individual inthe building, or may be a group calendar system used, for example, by acorporation to schedule corporate events. In a large, multi-tenantedbuilding, it is possible that the elevator management system 16 would beintegrated with more than one calendaring system 18 to obtain aggregatedata for all tenants. In a building such as a hotel, where thepassengers are generally short term guests, the hotel's event managementpersonnel would enter meeting information in the calendar system 18 foreach meeting, taking into account the event starting time, floor(s)reserved for guests, schedules, etc.

When a meeting room is booked through calendar system 18, meetinginformation may be provided to the elevator management system 16. Themeeting information may include the floor on which the meeting islocated, the starting and ending time of the meeting, the number ofparticipants involved in the meeting, identity of participants (e.g.,employee badge number), attributes associated with each participant,such as their home floor and office location, whether they are onsite(included) or offsite (excluded, anticipated to be a remoteparticipant), etc. The participant attributes may be obtained fromcontact information stored in the calendar system 18, or anotherdatabase (e.g., human resource records).

Various techniques may be used to provide the meeting information fromthe calendar system 18 to the elevator management system 16. In a firstembodiment, the meeting information is pushed from the calendar system18 to the elevator management system 16. When a meeting is scheduled inthe calendar system 18, the meeting information is also conveyed by thecalendar system 18 to the elevator management system 16. Users of thecalendar system 18 may enable or disable sending meeting information 21to the elevator management system 16 through user options 19. Forexample, an individual may not want personal meeting information (e.g.,a doctor's appointment) sent to the elevator management system 16 andcan block such transmission if desired.

In a second embodiment, the meeting information is pulled from thecalendar system 18 by the elevator management system 16. The elevatormanagement system periodically polls the calendar system 18 to retrievenew meeting information. Users of the calendar system 18 may enable ordisable the ability of the elevator management system 16 to pull meetinginformation from the calendar system 18, either on a meeting-by-meetingbasis, or globally. For example, an individual may not want personalmeeting information (e.g., a doctor's appointment) pulled by theelevator management system 16 and can block such access if desired.

Elevator management system 16 also communicates with a user interface20, through which users can notify the elevator management system 16 oftheir intended travel to and/or from the specific floor where themeeting occurs. User interface 20 may be implemented using a dedicatedhardware interface to the elevator management system 16, or to theelevator controller 12. Alternatively, the user interface 20 may be ageneral-purpose computer executing a web browser that interfaces withthe elevator management system 16. The user interface may also beimplemented on mobile devices such as smart phones or tablets, executinga web browser or app. It is understood that multiple user interfaces 20may be dispersed throughout a building. The user interface 20 allows auser to enter meeting information such as participants, source floor(e.g., the user's home floor), destination floor, meeting start time andmeeting end time.

In alternate embodiments, meeting information may be directly input tothe elevator management system 16. A calendar system and/or userinterface may be directly implemented by the elevator management system16, rather than being separate elements as shown in FIG. 1.

Location sensors 22 may communicate with the elevator management system16 over a network such as a local area network (LAN) or a wirelessnetwork. Location sensors 22 may be placed in a number of locations suchas parking garages, security checkpoints, turnstiles, doorways,hallways, etc. In exemplary embodiments, the location sensors are RFIDreaders that interrogate RFID cards carried by users to identify anindividual user and their location.

Location sensors 22 may be used to track individuals to augment controlcommands. For example, through the calendar system 18 or user interface20, the elevator management system 16 is notified that user A on the20^(th) floor has a meeting on the 8^(th) floor that runs from 1 pm-2pm. Based on this meeting information, the elevator management system 16generates control commands for the elevator controller 12 to send anelevator car to the 20^(th) floor at 12:55 pm. At 12:50 pm, one oflocation sensors 22 indicates that user A has left their office. Thisprompts the elevator management system 16 to send an augmented controlcommand to elevator controller 12 to send an elevator car to the 20^(th)floor now, as opposed to 12:55 pm, as the user is presumably heading tothe elevator area of the 20^(th) floor. The user can then press the callbutton in the elevator landing and operate the elevator in normalfashion. Alternatively, the user can enter a destination call through adestination entry device. Alternatively, a destination call may beautomatically entered upon detecting the user in the vicinity of theelevator.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a process performed by the elevator managementsystem 16 for generating control commands for the elevator controller12. The process begins at 100 where the elevator management system 16obtains meeting information from the calendar system 18. As notedpreviously, the meeting information may be pushed from the calendarsystem 18 to the elevator management system 16, or pulled from thecalendar system 18 by the elevator management system 16. If the calendarsystem 18 is implemented as a component of the elevator managementsystem 16, then no push or pull is needed.

At 102, elevator management system 16 obtains meeting information fromthe user interface 20. It is understood that steps 100 and 102 may occursimultaneously, or in opposite order. Also, obtaining meetinginformation from the calendar system 18 and the user interface 20 mayoccur periodically throughout the day.

At 104 the elevator management system 16 generates control commandsbased on the meeting information from one or both of the calendar system18 and the user interface 20. The meeting information is analysed todetect times (meeting start and end times) when groups of people will berequiring elevator access, and the relevant home floors for the meetingparticipants and the meeting location floor. The elevator managementsystem 16 then generates the control commands for the elevatorcontroller 12 to handle traffic to and from the meeting based on themeeting information. The control commands may then be provided to theelevator controller 12 for storage and ultimate execution proximate tothe meeting start time and meeting end time.

At 106, location sensor information is provided to the elevatormanagement system 16 identifying locations of individuals. Locationsensor information may be retrieved constantly during the day. Locationsensor information is one form of passenger data that may be used toaugment control commands as described herein. At 108, the locationsensor information is parsed to detect location sensor informationrelevant to an upcoming meeting corresponding to the obtained meetinginformation. One exemplary form of parsing includes determining a useridentity from the location sensor information (e.g., employee badgenumber) and determining if that user is a participant in a meetingwithin a predetermined time frame (e.g., 15 minutes). If the locationsensor information identifies a meeting participant has left theiroffice and is a participant in a meeting scheduled in the next 15minutes, then this is considered relevant location sensor information.If a meeting participant has left their office, but has a meetingscheduled in 2 hours, then this location sensor information is notdeemed relevant. Parsing the location sensor information preventsunrelated user activity from affecting the control commands to theelevator controller 12.

At 110, additional passenger data in the form of passenger countsrelevant to the meeting are obtained by controller 12. Passenger counts110 are also used to augment control commands in controller 12. A numberof techniques may be used to generate passenger counts relevant to themeeting. Controller 12 can detect the weight of an elevator going to ameeting floor as an indication of a count of passengers attending themeeting. Also, the number of hall calls and destination calls to themeeting floor may also be used to derive a passenger count. Thepassenger count may be kept by controller 12 as a running total. Thepassenger count may be used to determine or forecast when the need foradditional elevators will end, or reduce the number of elevatorsallocated for the meeting as the passenger count approaches the totalmeeting attendance.

At 112, the elevator management system 16 analyses the passenger data(e.g., relevant location sensor information and passenger counts) andaugments one or more control commands, if necessary. In the aboveexample, if location sensor data indicates a meeting participant hasleft their office and a meeting is scheduled in the next 15 minutes,this may indicate that meeting participants from that floor are startingto exit for the meeting and that one or more elevator cars should besent to the home floor now, as opposed to a predetermined time. Similaradjustments may be made based on users arriving at parking facilities,turnstiles, security checkpoints, etc. With respect to passenger counts,controller 12 may detect that a majority of the meeting participantshave been delivered to the meeting floor and then reduce the number ofelevator cars allocated for the meeting participants.

The above described control commands relate primarily to sending cars tofloors at certain times. The control commands may also involve otheroperational characteristics of the elevator cars. For example, if it isknown that a meeting is letting out at 1 PM, then from 12:55 (or uponsensing a lot of people heading to the meeting floor) until 1:15 (oruntil a sensing few passengers) the elevators will use longer door dwelltimes (to allow more people to board without attempting to close) orshorter dwell times (no need to wait a reasonable time for people toarrive in hallway as passengers are already present and will fill carquickly). Additionally, the control commands may affect loadingparameters such as number of people per car, how many uniquedestinations are assigned to any one car during this time period, etc.Thus, it is understood that the control commands go beyond routingelevator cars to floors at certain times and include other operationalcharacteristics of the elevator cars.

The location sensors 22 may work directly with the elevator controller12. In this embodiment, the elevator controller 12 obtains the locationsensor information, parses the location sensor information, and augmentsthe control commands based on the parsed location sensor information.The location sensor information would be fed directly to the elevatorcontroller 12 which may then, optionally, provide feedback to theelevator management system 16. The need for additional elevators couldend based on the meeting end time without the use of any feedback.Alternatively, the end time for providing elevators for the meeting maybe determined by counting passengers going to the meeting floor bycontroller 12.

Embodiments enhance the ability of the elevator controller 12 to dealwith bursts in traffic, by using the knowledge it can glean from thecalendaring system and the user interface. Advance knowledge allows thedispatching algorithms to prepare by sending additional cars to thefloors, reserving spare capacity in cars that might normally be close tofull when they arrive, etc.

While the invention has been described in detail in connection with onlya limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood thatthe invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, theinvention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations,alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretoforedescribed, but which are commensurate with the scope of the invention.Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have beendescribed, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention mayinclude only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, theinvention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, butis only limited by the scope of the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An elevator control system comprising: an elevator management system obtaining meeting information from at least one of a calendar system and a user interface, the meeting information identifying at least two meeting participants; the elevator management system generating a control command in response to the meeting information; and an elevator controller controlling destinations of one or more elevator cars in response to the control command; wherein the meeting information includes a meeting floor, meeting start time, meeting end time or meeting participant information.
 2. The elevator control system of claim 1 wherein: the meeting information includes meeting participant home floor.
 3. The elevator control system of claim 1 wherein: the meeting information is pushed from the calendar system to the elevator management system.
 4. The elevator control system of claim 3 wherein: the calendar system includes an option to disable pushing meeting information to the elevator management system.
 5. The elevator control system of claim 1 wherein: the meeting information is pulled from the calendar system by the elevator management system.
 6. The elevator control system of claim 5 wherein: the calendar system includes an option to disable pulling meeting information by the elevator management system.
 7. The elevator control system of claim 1 further comprising: location sensors for sensing a location of a user, the location sensors providing location sensor information; wherein one of the elevator management system and the elevator controller augments the control command in response to the location sensor information.
 8. The elevator control system of claim 7 wherein: one of the elevator management system and the elevator controller parses the location sensor information to derive location sensor information relevant to a meeting in the meeting information.
 9. The elevator control system of claim 8 wherein: parsing the location sensor information includes determining an identity of a user from the location sensor information; the identity of the user used to determine if the user is a participant in a meeting scheduled to begin within a predetermined time frame.
 10. The elevator control system of claim 9 wherein: one of the elevator management system and the elevator controller augments the control command in response to the parsed location sensor information.
 11. The elevator control system of claim 7 wherein: the elevator controller obtains passenger counts, the elevator controller augments the control command in response to the passenger counts.
 12. A method for controlling elevator cars, the method comprising: obtaining meeting information from at least one of a calendar system and a user interface, the meeting information identifying at least two meeting participants; generating a control command in response to the meeting information; and controlling destinations of one or more elevator cars in response to the control command; wherein the meeting information includes a meeting floor, meeting start time, meeting end time or meeting participant information.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein: the meeting information includes meeting participant home floor.
 14. The method of claim 12 further comprising: obtaining location sensor information and augmenting the control command in response to the location sensor information.
 15. The method of claim 14 further comprising: parsing location sensor information to derive location sensor information relevant to a meeting in the meeting information.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein: parsing the location sensor information includes determining an identity of a user from the location sensor information the identity of the user used to determine if the user is a participant in a meeting scheduled to begin within a predetermined time frame.
 17. The method of claim 16 further comprising: augmenting the control command in response to the parsed location sensor information.
 18. The method of claim 12 wherein: the control command controls operational characteristics of the one or more elevator cars in addition to controlling destinations of one or more elevator cars.
 19. An elevator control system comprising: an elevator management system obtaining meeting information from at least one of a calendar system and a user interface, the meeting information identifying at least two meeting participants; the elevator management system generating a control command in response to the meeting information; and an elevator controller controlling destinations of one or more elevator cars in response to the control command; wherein the meeting information includes a meeting floor, meeting start time, meeting end time, meeting participant information; wherein the meeting information is transferred from the calendar system to the elevator management system, the calendar system includes an option to disable transferring meeting information to the elevator management system; location sensors for sensing a location of a user, the location sensors providing location sensor information; wherein one of the elevator management system and the elevator controller parses the location sensor information to derive location sensor information relevant to a meeting in the meeting information; wherein one of the elevator management system and the elevator controller augments the control command in response to the parsed location sensor information; wherein parsing the location sensor information includes determining an identity of a user from the location sensor information; the identity of the user used to determine if the user is a participant in a meeting scheduled to begin within a predetermined time frame. 